A toddler boy was found dead under the rubble after an explosion initiated by a gas leak caused almost a whole building to collapse in the outskirts an Italian city.

The accident in which four-year-old Aron died, whilst four other people were injured, occurred in the Strada del Bramafame area in the Madonna di Campagna district in the city of Turin located in northern Italy in the early hours of Tuesday (24th August).

According to initial reports, the two-story structure composed of six apartments, which was mostly inhabited by Albanian and Romanian families, collapsed due to the impact of an explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder.

Emergency services who came to the site found Aron’s lifeless body under the building’s remains, and despite efforts to resuscitate the little boy, he was proclaimed dead at the scene.

Shortly after, his 34-year-old mother who has not been named by local media was found lying injured under a load of construction material.

She was taken to the Orthopedic Trauma Centre of Turin immediately after she was pulled out of the ruins.

Italian media reported that Aron’s father, who is an Albanian native and aged 40, was not present in the building when the incident happened but came to the scene after hearing of the explosion.

He was also transported to a local hospital in a state of shock, after hearing that his beloved son had lost his life.

Other injured included a man identified as Robert Panaite, aged 22, who had to be intubated due to second-and third-degree burns spread on almost half of his body and another man named Devis Licata, also aged 22, who suffered a pelvis fracture and a head injury.

A third man identified as Naif who was the first one to assist after the explosion occurred and had wounded his leg while trying to help shocked and scared citizens was also taken to a local hospital.

Further investigations should reveal more information on the collapse and whether there are further victims under the ruins.